As a journalist who has been working in the audio guide industry for ten years, I have conducted on-site observations at science and technology museums in over twenty countries around the world. But when I walked into the London Science Museum again in the late autumn of 2025, I was still attracted by the silver-white terminal of the interpretation equipment at the entrance – presentation system. A tourist from Australia was gently touching the screen with his fingertip, selecting the “English – Industrial Revolution Exhibition Area” mode. A few seconds later, the device automatically pushed a dedicated visiting route, even marking “The 18th Century Steam Engine Exhibition Area has fewer visitors at present. It is recommended to visit first.”
This scene precisely reflects the upgrading and iteration of the exhibition and interpretation system at the Science Museum in London over the past three years. This “Global Science and Technology Palace” with 70 exhibition rooms, 200,000 exhibits and an 8-acre area, from the 14th-century bronze bell to the 20th-century lunar module, from the friction coefficient slide in the wonderful laboratory to the “earth-shaking and earth-shaking” in the lightning simulation room, how is it explained through an intelligent presentation system Can foreign tourists of different languages and ages understand the progress of human technological history? Today, from an industry perspective, we will explore the value behind this presentation system.
The Interpretation Dilemma of the Century-old Science and Technology Museum
Before we talk about the current intelligent systems, we have to go back three years – when I visited the Science Museum in London for the first time, I happened to meet a group of middle school students from Canada. They gathered in a circle in front of the exhibit of Watt’s improved steam engine in the 18th century, but could only frown at the textual description. The teacher in charge said helplessly, “The manual explanation will take half an hour and only in English and French. The children want to know the working principle of the steam engine, but they can’t find a suitable way.”
This is not an isolated case. As one of the top three science and technology museums in the world in terms of reception volume, the Science Museum in London welcomes over 3 million visitors each year, 60% of whom are foreign visitors from all over the world. Before the intelligent interpretation system was implemented, the three major “interpretation predicaments” it faced were almost common problems for all international science and technology museums.
The predicament of the span of exhibits and the depth of explanations
The exhibits in this museum span a timeline of 600 years: from the copper clock used for astronomical observation in the 14th century, to the Newcomen steam engine in the early 18th century, and then to the lunar module and re-entry module of Apollo 10 in 1969. Traditional manual explanations are either “cursory” or can only cover a few popular exhibits – for instance, the first general-purpose computer that many foreign tourists come to visit specially, but often due to the long queue for explanations, they can only take a photo and leave.
The issue of multilingualism and real-time interaction
The most headache-inducing problem for foreign tourists is undoubtedly the language barrier. Previously, although the museum had audio guides in English, French and German, the content was fixed and they were not interactive. For instance, in the lightning simulation area of the “Wonder Laboratory”, after the staff demonstrated the experiment of “simulating lightning hitting a metal rod”, some Japanese tourists wanted to ask, “Why does lightning strike sharp objects first?” However, due to the language barrier, they could only gesture and thus missed the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding.
Z1 System: Adapt Exhibits to the habits of foreign tourists
In the “Digital Technology Exhibition Area” of a foreign science and technology museum, I saw the practical application of the Yingmi Z1 system – in front of a display cabinet showcasing the first general-purpose computer (ENIAC), there was a 21-inch high-definition LCD screen embedded. A tourist from Singapore picked up the “interactive sensing board” beside the display case, and the screen immediately popped up an animation of the working principle of ENIAC. He asked in English voice, “What’s the difference between ENIAC and modern computers?” The system gave a concise answer within one second, along with a comparison chart.
This Z1 system is a customized modification we made based on the habits of international tourists. Thomas, the head of the museum’s technical department, told me. From an industry perspective, the reason why the Z1 system can meet the needs of foreign science museums lies in its solution to the problem of “how exhibits can communicate efficiently with foreign visitors”, and there are three key designs behind this.
Multi-mode interaction without thresholds.Foreign tourists come from different cultural backgrounds and have varying degrees of familiarity with the operation interface. The Z1 system offers three interaction methods: “touch + voice + light sensing”. For instance, in the “Friction Coefficient Slide” exhibition area of the “Wonderful Laboratory” – there are mini slides made of wood, plastic and metal. Children can observe the speed differences by sliding the small balls. On the Z1 terminal beside it, you can either touch the screen with your finger to select the explanation of “The principle of friction coefficient” or say in English, “Why do the small balls on the plastic slide run the fastest?” The system will automatically match the corresponding content. Even when the child places the small ball at the top of the slide, the light-sensing device will trigger an explanation, “This is the battle between gravity and friction.” This “learning by doing” mode is particularly popular among foreign families with children.
From merely viewing exhibits to enjoying various services
Many foreign tourists are interested in the museum’s peripheral products when visiting – such as mini models of 18th-century steam engines and cultural and creative products with the theme of lunar modules. When the Z1 system is explaining the exhibits, an entry for “Related Accessories” will pop up at the bottom of the screen. After clicking on it, you can see the price and material, and also choose between “in-store pickup” or “International Express delivery”. Thomas showed me a set of data: Since the Z1 system was launched, international orders for museum-related products have increased by 40%. “Many tourists, upon seeing the model on the audio guide, found it convenient and placed an order directly without having to look for a store.”
Use data to optimize the popularity of exhibits
As an industry journalist, I pay particular attention to the “back-end capabilities” of the presentation system – the Z1 system can record the “number of visits”, “interaction duration” and “key questions” of each exhibit. For instance, data shows that the average interaction time of foreign tourists with the “lunar module” is 8 minutes, and the most frequently asked question is “How do astronauts survive in the re-entry capsule?” However, the copper bells from the 14th century, although visited by many people, had a low interaction rate. Based on these data, the museum has adjusted the content of its explanations: it has added videos of “details of astronauts’ lives” to the lunar module and supplemented the story of “how it influenced the timing of navigation at that time” to the bronze bell, making the less popular exhibits also attract foreign tourists to stay.
More importantly, the “customization capability” of the Z1 system perfectly matches the characteristics of the exhibition areas in foreign science museums. For instance, in the “Industrial Revolution Exhibition Area”, the display cabinets are custom-made according to the size of the steam engine. The display screen of Z1 is embedded on the side of the display cabinet, which neither blocks the exhibits nor makes it convenient for visitors to view. In the “Wonderful Lab”, considering the large number of children, the terminal of the Z1 was designed with rounded corners and made of scratch-resistant ABS plastic. “Even if it is accidentally bumped by a child, it won’t break,” Thomas said with a smile.
Zoned explanation of techniques
The Z1 system has resolved the issue of “interaction between exhibits and visitors”, truly solving the industry’s difficult problem of “simultaneous explanations in multiple areas” – this is also what I think is the most worthy of reference for foreign science and technology museums.
Three years ago, when I was interviewing in the “Agricultural Machinery Section” of the museum, the clear voice of the explanation from the “Computer Section” next door came through. An engineer from Germany complained, “I wanted to listen carefully to the story of the tractor’s development, but I was always interrupted by the computer’s explanation.” Now, this situation has completely vanished – because the system adopts UWB ultra-wideband positioning technology, with a positioning accuracy of ±10cm, which can precisely identify the area where tourists are located.
When you enter the “Steam Engine Exhibition Area”, the system will trigger an explanation within 0.5 seconds after you step into the area. When you reach the edge of the exhibition area, the explanations will naturally fade in and out, without suddenly interrupting or ringing out.” Thomas took me on an experience: from the steam engine area to the combine harvester area, the content of the explanation smoothly transitioned from “Watt’s process of improving the steam engine” to “How the combine harvester changed agricultural production”, the volume gradually dropped from 60 decibels to 0, and then rose to 60 decibels in the combine harvester area, without any sense of abrupidity. This “0.8-1.2 seconds adjustable fade-in and fade-out” is precisely the key indicator for evaluating the “acoustic performance” of the zonal presentation system in the industry – it avoids the embarrassment of traditional systems making loud noises as soon as they enter the area, and is particularly suitable for the habit of foreign tourists to “stroll slowly”.
The more core is the “independent sound field” technology. The exhibition areas of the Science Museum in London are relatively close to each other. For instance, the “Computer Area” and the “Lunar Module Area” are only separated by a glass wall. However, with the dual noise reduction of “physical isolation + digital algorithm”, the explanations in the two areas will not interfere with each other. I conducted a test: when the explanation was playing in the computer area, standing on the other side of the glass wall in the lunar module area, I could hardly hear any sound. And vice versa. This kind of “non-interference” experience is particularly important for foreign tourists – most of them hope to focus on the exhibits in front of them and not be disturbed by other sounds.
The “stability” of the system has also been tested in actual combat. During peak hours every day, the Science Museum in London sees thousands of foreign visitors using the guided tour system simultaneously, covering multiple languages such as English, French and Spanish. However, the system supports multi-user parallel operation and there will be no “frequency crossover” – for instance, if you choose an English explanation, French content will never suddenly pop up. Thomas said, “Last summer vacation, we received 23,000 tourists a day and the system ran without any faults. This was something we never dared to imagine before.”
In addition, the “scalability” of the system also leaves ample room for the future. For instance, at the beginning of this year, the museum added a new exhibition area called “AI and Future Technology”. By simply setting up a few UWB positioning base stations in the new exhibition area, the existing system can be connected without having to rebuild the entire set of equipment. “For foreign science and technology museums, exhibition areas are constantly updated and systems can be flexibly expanded, so there is no need to repeatedly invest funds.” ” This point has been mentioned by many of the heads of the international science and technology museums I have interviewed – scalability is an important consideration for them when choosing an presentation system.
The presentation system becomes a good assistant for visiting the museum
During the one-week interview at the Science Museum in London, I randomly interviewed over 20 foreign tourists. Their evaluations of the interpretation system might be more convincing than technical parameters.
Lily, a high school student from New York, USA, came to visit with her “Science and Technology History Assignment”. “Before, I had to hold a notebook to record the information of the exhibits. Now, the audio guide will send the key points to my email and mark the parts that need in-depth study.” ” She opened her phone and showed it to me: In the explanation of the lunar module, she marked “thermal protection materials for the re-entry capsule”, and the system also automatically recommended related popular science articles. “This is so helpful for my homework.”
The Yamada couple from Tokyo, Japan, visited the “Wonderful Laboratory” with their 5-year-old son. The child was particularly interested in the coefficient of friction of the slide. The commentator demonstrated with an animation “Why plastic slides are faster than wooden ones”, and he understood it immediately. Mrs. Yamada said that in the past, when she took her child to visit the science and technology museum, the child always asked “why?” and she couldn’t answer. Now, the audio guide has become a “temporary teacher”, “and it can even switch to Japanese. It’s so convenient.”
Pierre, an engineer from Paris, France, most approves of the “quietness” of the zonal presentation system. The last time I came here, there were explanations everywhere, but this time there’s none at all. I can listen attentively to the story of each exhibit, such as the detailed explanation of the development process of the first computer, as well as the interview videos of the engineers. This is very valuable to me.
These genuine experiences confirm the success of the upgrade of the interpretation system at the Science Museum in London – it is no longer a “cold tool”, but a “bridge connecting exhibits with foreign visitors”. As Thomas said, “We hope that every foreign visitor, regardless of their country or language, can understand the technological stories behind these exhibits and feel the power of human progress.”
When choosing an presentation system, it should be in line with the requirements
As a journalist with ten years of industry experience, I am often asked by the managers of foreign science and technology museums, “How should we choose a display and presentation system that suits us?” It is not about pursuing the most expensive technology, but rather about “conforming to the characteristics of one’s own exhibits and the needs of visitors”.
First of all, it is necessary to clarify the “core demand”. The core demands of the Science Museum are “serving international visitors, solving crosstalk problems, and achieving interactive experiences”, so it has chosen the Z1 system + UWB zoning technology. If it is a small science and technology museum with few exhibits and mainly local visitors, such a complex system may not be necessary. A basic Bluetooth audio guide can meet the requirements.
Secondly, attention should be paid to “user habits”. Most foreign tourists prefer “independent operation and flexible interaction”, so the system should be simple and easy to use, supporting multiple languages and multiple interaction methods. For instance, the voice interaction of Z1 doesn’t require pressing too many buttons. Just saying one sentence can trigger it, which is very much in line with the operation habits of foreign tourists.
Finally, it is important to attach importance to “after-sales service”. The presentation system is not something that can be simply purchased; it requires long-term maintenance and upgrades. The manufacturer chosen by the Science Museum in London will regularly send people to inspect the equipment, adjust the explanation content according to the updated exhibits, and also provide 24-hour technical support. During last Christmas, a Z1 terminal malfunctioned, and the manufacturer arrived within two hours to fix it, which did not affect the visitor experience.
At the end of the interview, I was standing in the atrium of the Science Museum in London, watching the sunlight filtering through the glass dome and falling on the “Lunar module” exhibits. A little girl from India was using the AR function of the audio guide to “touch” the lunar module model on the screen, her face full of curiosity. At that moment, I realized that a good display and presentation system not only enables the exhibits to “speak”, but also allows visitors from different countries to feel the charm of technology – this might be the greatest inspiration that the “intelligent explanation revolution” of the Science Museum in London has brought to science museums around the world.
From the ancient clocks of the 14th century to the lunar modules of the 20th century, the Science Museum in London has brought its 600-year-old technological heritage to life with an intelligent interpretation system. For foreign science and technology museums, the value of this system lies not only in the technology itself, but also in its “visitor-centered” design concept – enabling every foreign visitor to understand the stories behind the technology in an environment free from language barriers and sound interference.
In the future, with the development of AI multilingual technology and personalized content generation, there will be even more possibilities for presentation systems. But no matter how technology upgrades, the core remains unchanged: to bring exhibits closer to visitors and spread the stories of technology around the world. The practice of the Science Museum in London has already provided a worthy model for this path.